Why we really wear business suits

Since the early 19th century the Suit has been common item of clothing for businessmen and women, yet many don’t understand the true representation of why they wear it.

Many believe it is to show leadership, but in actual fact it reflects the opposite.

The modern business suit stems back to the early 19th century, but actually derives from the French revolution which ended back in 1799. The french revolution was one of the most important events of war in human history, changing history, and also starting a changing fashion.

Men on the battlefields would wear their suits of armour to protect themselves from those they feared, which is what the concept of the modern business suit still represents to this day.

The fashionable mens suit has evolved from the days of history, so that as you go into ‘battle’ in the business world you wear a suit to protect you from those that you fear. It is a sign that without a suit on you are fearful of others and need to wear a protective layer as your armour to make people believe you are a modern warrior.

In fact the striped-pattern necktie that many still wear today dates back to King Louis XIII when he hired Croatian mercenaries who wore a piece of cloth around their neck as part of their uniform.  While fighting they would wipe the blood of their victims from their sword upon the material, creating a vertical blood-striped pattern. The vertical striped pattern is still found on neckties to this day to represent the battle against your victims.

A business person that goes into a meeting with a plain necktie represents they are new or not adverse to being a fighter, while those with the larger stripes on their necktie represented they are more aggressive in business and are prepared to win at any cost.

To this day, wearing a suit signifies that you are fearful and need protection to cover a weakness.

But times are quickly changing and the days of the suit belong to the old world of business.

However, when we look at the modern business world of entrepreneurs and those that have stepped outside of the box, such as Richard Branson, Steve Jobs, Mark Zuckerberg, Elon Musk and many others, you start noticing that these highly successful leaders are not only changing the world, but for most of it, they don’t need to wear a suit. They recognise themselves as leaders that don’t fear their competitors. They are bold, confident, and don’t need to hide behind the modern body armour that we call a business suit.

You’ll find the times they do occasionally wear their suit is when they are meeting with a more powerful leader than themselves such as the Queen, the President, or someone else of great respect, with the suit representing that they understand they are the weaker person.

In actual fact, a successful business business person achieves more when most comfortable in what they wear. That may be a pair of boardshorts and a t-shirt, a polo shirt, or possibly even a tracksuit.

Those that feel they need to wear a suit usually do so because they feel a pressure or insecurity to look the part of someone that is successful.

So next time you are donning that business suit to head to the office, think to yourself, do you need to wear the armour, or are you a leader that is comfortable in yourself and your achievements, without fear of your opponents.